hello toledo.

so our lives have changed drastically within the past few weeks. we recently moved from cincinnati to toledo. and it has been hard. sigh. 

first of all, i am really sentimental and it was hard to leave brian and i's first home together. there are lots of memories there and it was the place we spent the first two years of our marriage. it was also a place where the Holy Spirit showed up and ministered to us and a lot of high school students. it was a great (and not to mention, spacious) first home. 

secondly, my family lived about 15 minutes away from our home and i could go hang out whenever i wanted. dates with my mom, snuggling with some pretty sweet labrador retrievers, and family dinners were easy and accessible. not to mention, i had some pretty awesome girlfriends all around me. 

thirdly, i really took for granted everything there was to do in cincinnati. i have always loved cincinnati and having a coffee shop about every half mile to go chill in was normal. here, not so much. 

it's not that i'm not an adventurous person...i am...i've never been opposed to moving to a new place. but no offense, toledo, you're not exactly included in the hip cities that i dream of visiting or living in. 

that was my flesh just speaking. 

my spirit knows that God has brought us here for youth ministry. that He's going to do mighty things and that we will get to play a part in students flourishing in their relationships with the Lord. i'm really excited for that. but i won't pretend that i am the nice Christian girl who enthusiastically said "yes, Lord!" to coming here. it has been a struggle. and it will be. its going to be a season of choosing contentment when i can already find a million things i don't like about this area. and i pray for the grace to choose contentment and joy.... because wow, is it hard. and i can't do it by myself, but He promises that His grace is sufficient. 

i know the Lord has something great here... and i also know that His definition of "great" and my fleshly definition of "great" are probably a lot different... but i know that He is going to grow brian and i spiritually, and probably in a lot of other ways too. i am excited to grow, but also dread the process, as it can be painful. i am so torn! 

here are a few instagram pics of our apartment here... still lots of work to do, but it's looking homey, what with the christmas decorations and all. my mother in law and sis in law helped us unpack and my mom came up to help me organize and decorate...so thankful for them! 

thanks for reading/listening to my heart! 

you've cat to be kitten me right meow.

kittens are everywhere. and i can't handle it. 

i've been doing some christmas shopping and stumbled across these vintage kitten tea towels on etsy!  i must have them. 

i am also a fan of this one: 

check out these other kitten finds:

LOL sweatshirt

chain of kitty cats mug

and finally, go have some meow inspired fun:

cat bounce

kittens inspired by kittens

you're welcome! 

Darling Magazine link.

 If you haven't read Darling Magazine, then you should! I just read this article and since it is closely tied to my post yesterday, I wanted to share. Check out Darling Magazine's "Nothing Sacred: Physical Immodesty" Enjoy and check out other posts as well! 

Objectification of women and how both men and women play equal roles in ending it.

Its all just a big misunderstanding.

Some blame men for objectifying women “because they are pigs.” 

Some blame women for objectifying themselves “because they are sluts and ask for it.” 

So who is really responsible? And how does this objectification end? 

Objectification means to present as an object, or to depersonalize. Women are objectified sexually when they are viewed, presented, or used as a tool for sexual stimulation, fantasy, or pleasure. 

I have come across so many exclusive ideas and attitudes when it comes to this issue. One end of the spectrum: “It’s the woman’s job to dress modestly so she doesn’t tempt a man into anything.” Here the woman is primarily responsible and at fault. Another end: “As a woman, I should be able to wear whatever the hell I want without a guy objectifying me.” Here the man is primarily responsible and at fault.  

Both views are only partly right. 

The truth is, both men and women are equally responsible for our culture’s objectification of females and we have an equal role to play in ending it. When we put all of the responsibility on the opposite sex, we are lessening our role in bringing God’s Kingdom to earth. And isn’t that sexist? So yes, both men and women need to step it up. And since I am a lady, let me encourage the ladies: 

• If you have been sexually objectified in any way by a man, you are never responsible for a man’s sinful actions, no matter how you dress or act. A man is always responsible for his own actions and if he tries to blame you for “tempting” him into behaving a certain way, he is not a man. He is a coward. 
• However, with that said, are you objectifying yourself? Do you dress provocatively, to flaunt a particular body part?  Or do you dress to creatively express yourself as a person? What is your motive for wearing what you wear? Modesty is a hard subject to address because there are a lot of gray areas...what is modest to one person might not be modest to another. However, if you are in Christ, you “have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16) and a “sound mind” or “good judgement” (1 Timothy 1:7). You have the conviction of the Holy Spirit to dress in a way that brings glory to God. The Lord is more interested in our motives for wearing the clothes, than the actual clothes themselves. 
• Please do not participate in objectifying your own kind by mindlessly singing along to songs with lyrics that are degrading to women. Critically evaluate what you listen to, and especially what you sing and bop your head along to. I have been guilty of singing and dancing to popular songs, only to be horrified when I learned the type of objectifying behavior I was encouraging men to engage in just by participating in the song. By participating in such songs, we’re saying that this type of behavior is okay, and it absolutely is not. 
• I always tell my high school girls that they set the standard for what kind of men the men in their life need to be. Keep the bar high. Most men will try to live up to it. And don't be easily swept off your feet. Many girls are far too easily “satisfied” with being used, because at least they’re getting attention. Isn’t it a tragedy that many girls would rather be used than ignored?
• While many women are objectified and used sexually, I really believe that women are just as guilty at using men. We use men for emotional fulfillment, attention, and security. Many women do not love a man for the man he is, but for how he fulfills her. It is unfair to accuse men of always using women and not take responsibility for how we ourselves use men. When women stop using men, they will stop flaunting themselves provocatively to get their attention...and maybe that will help men to stop using women.  
• Your sexuality is beautiful. It is not bad, ugly, or dirty. It is so beautiful and special that it is only meant for a man who will commit himself to you for the rest of his life and lay down his life for you. Hold out for that. If you haven't held out for that, there is grace and it's not too late to change. And men have the same standard to live up to. His sexuality is equally as special and important that he needs to reserve it for his bride. Sex is meant to be shared with mutual pleasure. The husband and the wife should seek to serve the other and to equally give of oneself in it. 
• You bear the image of Almighty God and you have unique dreams, gifts, passions, and desires to make an impact. And you are so beautiful. On the outside and the inside. And I guarantee if you focus on your inner beauty just as much as or more than you focus on your outer appearance, then your outer beauty will shine all the brighter. 

With that said, your role in ending the objectification of women is crucial. Your role in bringing God’s Kingdom to earth is crucial. When God’s Kingdom comes to earth, brokenness is healed, people are made whole, regret is outshone by grace, sex is sacred, beauty isn’t used (it is revered), and trust in the opposite gender is restored. Don’t you want to play a part in bringing these things about? May His Kingdom come. 

via

R.I.P Baxter

Dear Baxie,

I am missing you so much. Life without you is not the same. I would give anything for you to be "bad" again...just to have you back! You were the best companion. You helped make the past 12 years of our lives full.

I have lost count on how many Bibles you have eaten...somewhere around 13 I think?! You were always hungry for the Word of God ;) ...you were also always hungry for bananas, razors, cantaloupe, plates of chocolate brownies, onions, even cat poop...you were ruled by your stomach! I can't believe the time came when you were no longer healthy... but even in your sickness, you still wanted to be naughty and get into things you weren't supposed to, always making us laugh :)

There will never be another doggie like you. And even though some said you were a "bad dog," and even though we called you this from time to time, you were such a GOOD BOY. I love you so much! I really believe I'll see you in heaven someday.

Peace, Love, and Bananas,
Courtney aka Big Sister

hello.

hello lovely friends,

it has been awhile. i havent written anything nor have i even been reading blogs. theres really not an explanation, other than that sometimes a girl just needs to withdrawal herself. i never want to be someone who posts things just to please readers. i only want to blog when i am inspired or when the Lord puts something on my heart that needs to be shared. 

i am in a season right now where i am trying to limit my activity. i feel that i am just going going going and i really just need the Lord to minister to my heart and fill me up again. you understand this, i'm sure. i do have a couple posts i want to share maybe in the next few days, a farewell post to our family dog and another post that God burdened my spirit with... and we'll take it from there. although i havent been reading many blogs recently, i really do think about you all a lot and keep up with some of you on facebook. you all are awesome :) 

a late post of another macaron adventure.

and the macaron craze continues! about a month ago (sad that i am just getting around to posting) allison, bekah, and i made some delicious macarons. we all love nutella, so we thought that it would be the perfect filling to sandwich the cookies together. it saved a bunch of time because we didn't have to make the filling, we simply used a trusty jar of nutella! click here to see allison's post ((and the full recipe)) about this baking adventure!

macarons can be fussy...we made our first two batches without any cracks in the shells, but ours came out cracked this batch. experts say these french cookies are very unpredictable because any slight change in humidity can cause them to crack while baking in the oven. we're unsure why this happened this time, but we still thought they were cute! even more importantly, they were completely delicious. 

we paired these delicious treats with macaron branded pinot noir...the perfect combo for an afternoon with your girlfriends. ((add in some pink lipstick to match your macarons.))

yay!